Press Releases

PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced April Mooney was sentenced to five years in prison after stealing approximately $240,000 from her employer. Mooney was sentenced after a jury found her guilty of one count of Theft and four counts of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices last month. Mooney stole $240,000 and used the money to pay for vacations, dining, shopping, and ATM withdrawals at various casinos.

PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a judge sentenced Mark Edward Ray to 19 years in prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. Ray will be placed on lifetime probation and will also be required to register as a sex offender after serving his prison sentence. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jay Adleman handed down Ray’s sentence saying the “evidence was overwhelming,” and the circumstances of the crimes were “unusually aggravated.”

PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a State Grand Jury indicted Jennifer Garrett on 10 felony counts after allegedly falsifying her income to qualify for more than $70,000 in state benefits. During the time Garrett aka Jennifer Haynie received state medical benefits, investigators allege she and her then-husband owned and operated a successful car restoration business in Arizona. In addition, Garrett allegedly purchased a Nissan 350Z and a Mercedes SUV while receiving state benefits.

PHOENIX – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a State Grand Jury indicted Andrew James May on six felony counts for his involvement in an alleged credit card scheme. May is accused of scamming customers into paying thousands of dollars in processing fees for high-limit credit cards and failing to deliver the credit cards to customers. The indictment charges May with one count of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, one count of Theft, and four counts of Criminal Impersonation.

TUCSON - Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced convicted registered sex offender Chad Andrew Berkley is back in custody after being on the run for more than two months. The U.S. Marshals arrested Berkley in Arivaca, AZ after tracking him through multiple states. Berkley is currently facing Sexual Exploitation of a Minor charges. A judge set Berkley's new bond at $500,000. He's currently being held in the Pima County Jail.

TUCSON - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a Pima County Grand Jury charged Courtney Rochelle Ward with Money Laundering, Fraud, and Forgery for allegedly participating in a national money laundering scheme. The AZAG Border Crimes and Special Investigation Section began an investigation after Ward began depositing and withdrawing more than $140,000 into Wells Fargo bank accounts. Ward is suspected of smurfing, an activity that involves making numerous cash deposits of less than $10,000 at multiple bank branches to avoid reporting requirement triggers.

PHOENIX – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced today a judge sentenced 54-year-old Gerardo Alonzo Avila to one year in prison after he pled guilty to one count of Insurance Fraud, a class 6 felony. Avila filed a claim with his insurance company, Liberty Mutual, stating his home in Maricopa was burglarized on September 22, 2013. Avila inflated his claim by stating valuable Native American artifacts were stolen worth more than $220,000.

PHOENIX – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced today a jury found April Mooney guilty of one count of Theft, a class two felony, and four counts of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, class two felonies. Mooney stole approximately $240,000 from her employer utilizing four different fraud schemes. The defendant used the stolen money to pay for personal expenses, dining, shopping, and ATM withdrawals at various casinos.

PHOENIX - Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is asking for the public’s assistance in finding a registered sex offender who may be on the run and is currently facing Sexual Exploitation of a Child charges. A judge issued an arrest warrant for Chad Andrew Berkley on January 26, 2016 after he failed to appear in Pima County Superior Court. To date, law enforcement agencies across Arizona have been unable to find Berkley. In August 2015, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office indicted Berkley on 12 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. Berkley is accused of downloading child pornography and storing those images on his Google accounts and cell phone. After Berkley’s arrest, a judge released him from jail on a $10,000 bond. Berkley is also a convicted sex offender who pled guilty to a sexual offense involving a child in 2005. Berkley's last known address is in Tucson. Anyone with information on Berkley's whereabouts should call their local law enforcement agency immediately.